In This Life And The Other
by M-Theory
Summary: Eveything they did. Eveything they went through. Everything they loved. It was them, Emily and Paige.
1. California

**Disclaimer: I do not own Pretty Little Liars. The only thing here that is mine is the idea for the plot, everything else... Well, is not.**

 **Author Note:** **Hey, guys! Quick word here, this is a 're-do' of my story 'Her Name is Paige McCullers', I don't know if any of you ever read that when it was published (Well, the three chapters that were, anyways) it was so long ago! It was paused and deleted because the story wasn't taking the path I was hoping for, so I'm writing it again, on a new way.**

 **Well, there's another note at the end, if you get there, check it out.**

 **Enjoy!**

* * *

 ** _Chapter One: California._**

 _Paige McCullers was a competitive person; no one could deny that, she was a hotheaded, determined, goal orientated athlete with a temper just as bad as it was short. Those traits, as her mother liked to remind her, came from her father and neither her father nor herself could find any evidence against that statement. Now, Paige didn't despise them; said traits were the reason of her good results in school, sports, and even more, in the pool. Even though swimming was her main focus, field hockey was just as important for her._

 _Paige held her hockey stick with both hands as she waited to Jessica Molson to make her free hit on the left sideline, aiming to Paige's team goal, as soon as Jessica shot the small ball on Amy Green's way, Paige started running towards her, Amy received the ball and quickly managed to pass two of Paige's teammates and positioned in front of the goalkeeper, Paige was about to sprint in between when she felt herself being strongly pushed on the back, she fell on the grass harshly and saw a blonde in front of her running, receiving the ball in her stick, the goalkeeper desperately jumped, believing when the blonde faked a left to just shoot right and neatly score one more point. Paige groaned._

" _Sorry, I thought you had her" Pru came in front of her, offering a hand "She's fast"_

 _Paige accepted her friend's hand and Pru helped her stand up._

" _They're two goals above us" Paige said, annoyed, watching how half of the people in the field were on a group hug with the blonde girl in the center._

" _Take it easy, it's just a practice" Pru remind her as she gently_ _patted_ _her shoulder but Paige kept on watching the group dissolve slowly and all of the players taking their assigned positions._

 _Alison DiLaurentis walked from the celebrating circle to meet Paige in the middle of the field, the blonde, shorter girl found Paige's gaze with a mocking half smile that made Paige sick to her stomach and she felt her anger rise on a dangerous rate. She exhaled deeply as Alison put the small ball between them, both of the girls trying to get the closest with their stick without actually touching it. The whistle rang and Paige was faster to get the ball, she ran with Alison quick behind her, she passed the ball to Pru, that was intersected by Amy, then Alison wasn't behind her anymore, the girl was running behind Amy on the way to the goal and Paige ran after them, luckily, when Amy was about to pass the ball to Alison again, Jennifer Banes was swift to intervene, she passes the ball back to Paige and she passed the ball to the girl closest to the other team's goal with a strong swim, she smiled as the girl received it and rapidly make a pass to Pru who was the first one to get to her area, Pru dodged the goalkeeper and shoot a score on their favor. Paige cheered but the small relief was ended by another blow of the whistle; she groaned again as she walked with the team towards the coach, who was writing notes down on his clipboard. They lost by just one point. It was a tight match and she was about to decide that 9/10 wasn't so bad when Alison DiLaurentis cut in front her laughing loudly with Amy Green on her side, she frowned._

 _It was bad enough…_

" _Great practice, girls" The coach called out to the team with a big smile on his face, in comparison with other coaches Paige have known, Coach Olson was someone to always have a great mood and good-natured attitude almost all the time, always motivating them and giving them speeches to be better everyday "It was just great, girls" Coach Olson repeated._ _The problem with his always optimistic attitude was that it could get…_

" _I'm so happy for you, girls, you played just greatly"_

 _So annoying._

 _Paige concluded that she was annoyed enough without adding her coach rambling about how great the game practice went, so she blocked out what he was saying as Pru stood next to her, handing over her bottle of water, she smiled as she took the bottle to her lips, the coach finally letting them go and almost all of them started walking towards the lockers. She heard Pru talking about something but she wasn't listening, Paige saw Alison waving towards the bleachers and four girls waved back at her almost in sync, Paige recognized them, Alison's friends, or how it seemed at times, Alison's minions._

 _It wasn't strange that they were waiting for Alison at the end of the practice, in fact, it was weird the times Alison left the field without her personal cheerleaders; it was weird to see her without them anywhere, in that matter. Since the little group of friends was assembled in the start of last summer, everyone knew who they were. The four girls were waiting patiently for the blonde to say goodbye to her teammates. Paige scoffed internally watching the girls as she walked with Pru besides her; there was Aria, small and smiling like a puppy, Hanna, the chubby of the group, biting her thumb in a somewhat nervous matter, Spencer, tall and slim, the only one who wasn't smiling and, of course, the one who couldn't be missing, Emily, she was smiling happily holding a pink bag against her chest. Paige stared at the last one just a second longer, she felt her cheeks getting warm so she got her eyes away from the girl as she took another sip off her water._

 _When she did she felt a gaze upon her and she move her head, just to find Alison's eyes on her and the other girl's expression made her stomach flip again, Alison was standing with her arms crossed over her chest with her body towards Amy, who was making a goodbye sign without noticing that the other girl wasn't paying attention to her, Alison had her eyes on Paige, her eyebrows lightly narrowed, she could've looked serious if it wasn't for the small smile appearing slowly on her face, like she just got two aces on a poker game, Paige didn't want to look scared, she wasn't, but Alison's expression made her feel uneasy, so she frowned, trying to give her a daring look, then, still uncomfortable, she closed her eyes and moved her head to Pru, who was still talking, unaware that Paige wasn't really engaged to the conversation._

" _Because if we watch some horror movie, then I won't get any sleep tonight "Pru was saying, playing with her stick as they walked "And I know you won't either, so what do you say?" Paige nodded, not really sure what she was agreeing to._

 _Paige blinked and entered the locker room after Pru, with a lump on her throat. Why did Alison give her that smile after she looked at Emily Fields? Had she noticed that she was looking at Emily? And if she did why would she mock her about it? There's no way Alison figured something out by just one look she gave to Emily…_

 _Right?_

 _She disliked Alison DiLaurentis, just as she knew Alison DiLaurentis disliked her and she was sure that they would both agree it had started as soon as she joined the team. The first practice together ended up on a shouting contest because of a fault, which you could blame Paige for, and they were both sent to the bench for not being "team players", Alison groaned as she remarked it was Paige's 'stupid fault' and Paige rolled her eyes when they both had sit in the opposite end of the same bench until practice was over. After that it was a fact that they were naturally incompatible, it became a regular thing; a little mean joke here, a nickname there; it wasn't anything Paige couldn't handle, she didn't stay quiet either, she started to reply Alison's remarks, the "Watch out, ugly face" were replied with "You too, big foot" and every time she applied more force than necessary in the field, Alison did the same. Now, their intolerance to each other just kept on growing by the day. It wasn't something Paige was proud of, but she wouldn't let Alison win, she couldn't; not especially if Alison hasn't given a sign to stop either._

* * *

There were still rests of the 15 years old Paige McCullers that you could find in the young adult that she was now. At age of 24 she was still stubborn, competitive and impulsive but she had changed a lot, Paige had grown to be mature and _a little_ more relaxed, she took things less intensely and she had learned to control certain things that she didn't when she was younger. The last one was key for who Paige was now. Accepting things that she couldn't change was a big part of her growth.

Now, when she left Rosewood she didn't expect to cut ties with the city, not _entirely,_ anyways. She tried to kept in touch with the her family, friends and acquaintances in Pennsylvania, but as soon as her life in California started to demand her complete focus her times to gossip with Pru and her group of friends decrease to a few texts a week and quick phone calls to her parents to know they were both ok and to reassure them that she was doing fine by herself (that she was behaving; she knew that was what they were really asking). She never went back, it's been 5 years since the last time she breathed the cold air of Rosewood, her parents always came to visit her on the holidays so she really didn't have a reason to go there; the last time she thought of going back was over a person, and that same person was clear enough when they asked her to stay where she was. After that, going back was a idea that never went through her head, what she knew about what was happening in Rosewood came almost exclusively from her parents and Pru, they've maintained her fairly updated , they've told her about who stayed in the city and who left, the ones who got married and who didn't even managed to start a relationship.

Pru's bother had a baby, their friend Alex got married, the Smiths sold their house and according to her parents the new people were nice, Sean Ackard was caught smoking weed and it was hilarious, well, according to Pru, Pru also told her that Jenna Marshall left town overnight; and so did a few of her ex-classmates as well, the most talked departure was the one of the most popular group in Rosewood; Spencer, Hanna Aria and Emily left after graduation, apparently all of them had their own path to follow and went different directions, Paige was shocked to hear that Alison DiLaurentis was the one who stayed in town. Thinking about it, was really odd that Alison didn't leave but seemly she had to stay because she had a sister to take care of, or that what she had been told. She didn't know more of Rosewood than that.

California was her life now, she had graduated as an architect and she was currently working half time as an inter in a small firm; factor that was becoming a problem because she was also starting her career as a professional swimmer and the hours in the days were feeling shorter(Or were they longer) adding to that, she needed to make time for her and her girlfriend. All that of 'you can be all you want to be, have all you want to have and do all you want to do' was horse crap, not if you needed time to sleep. She was thankful her girlfriend was so considerate.

"Be careful, it's hot"- Lauren told her handing her a mug as she sat next to her; they were in Lauren's apartment watching a movie in a Saturday night, it wasn't what most people would expect of a young couple to do on the weekend, but she was tired and Lauren was ok with them just doing this; of course, her girlfriend knew how much Paige working lately so when she proposed Lauren the idea to have a quiet night on her couch she agreed with a smile and an offer of a chick flick, light snacks and cuddles. Could she be any luckier? She met Lauren on her sophomore year in Stanford, the blonde girl was in her last year of in law school; the mutual attraction was evident from the beginning so after a time of getting to know each other they started dating.

She placed he freer arm around the other girl, who sighed and moved herself closer, putting her head on Paige's shoulders and one arm around her stomach. Paige took a sip of her cup, the sweet smell of her tea blended with the smell of Lauren's hair and she couldn't help but feel happy.

She really was lucky.

* * *

Yes, this story IS Paily, remember this.

Ok! What you thought of it?

If you want a next chapter, please tell me, I'll be updating according to what the people want to read.

This is just the begining.

I know this is not the greatest start but tell me what you think! Even if you hated it I want to know!

Thank you for reading.

-Alex.


	2. Oh, California

**Disclaimer: I do not own Pretty Little Liars, the only thing here that is mine is the idea for the plot, everything else… Well, is not.**

 **Author's note:**

 **1)Something that I forgot to mention in the first chapter, the point of this story is to see the other side of Paily that we didn't see in the show, so, this story will follow the cannon until the end season 6A, right before the flash-forward. What does this mean? Everything that happened in the show before the flash-forward, happened in this story as well but we'll see Paily off-screen how I (hope) think it happened. We cool so far? You sure? Ok.**

 **2) As you'll see next, I'll be writing in both Paige** _ **and Emily's**_ **perspective.**

 **3) You guys are amazing, thank you for reviewing the first chapter, I'm so glad you liked it. Thank you!**

 **4) THIS IS A PAILY STORY!**

 **5) There's a note at the end, if you get there, check it out.**

* * *

 _ **Chapter two: Oh… California.**_

" _Emily Fields always was an introvert person, being the center of attention was something she wasn't completely comfortable with; knowing that a big group of people were focusing on her made her feel anxious, she always felt her cheek warm up and her palms get sweaty but once she joined the swim team she concluded that she needed outgrow that almost sick-like sensation that went through her body when she was put in the spotlight, between practice and meets, there always were people watching her every move, so dealing with her nervousness was utterly necessary._

 _Now, that she felt inadequate in front of people didn't mean that she didn't like receiving attention, especially if it came from the right people. And Alison DiLaurentis was aware of that._

 _Emily didn't know what it was. Maybe it was that quality that Alison possessed to make a person feel special. Maybe it was because Alison was the most popular girl in town and she could give her attention to anyone and the fact she picked her made Emily feel flattered. Maybe it was just because Alison's blonde hair was stupidly soft and her eyes were ridiculously blue, she simply couldn't help it. Maybe it was a combination of all of these factors but when Alison started to dedicate time for her-and only her- it just felt…. Good. Really good._

 _And that was the problem._

 _Liking the time she spent privately with Alison as much as she did was creating an internal fight between the part of her brain that enjoyed Alison's attention and the part that knew that she shouldn't. Because she knew she shouldn't; not the kind of attention Alison was paying her; it was the kind of attention she usually received from her boyfriend Ben; the type of attention she got from the boys that liked her, from boys, exclusively. It felt… Intimate, their time together weren't just an overly friendly alone time, no, their time together were moments in which both of them became closer and closer each instant. When they were alone there was an air of in intimacy that made her feel somewhat dizzy; Alison's gaze was too intense not to feel that way._

 _The biggest inconvenience was on how it started. The Jenna thing. That night was, without a doubt, the worse night in Emily's life. Every memory of it was a nightmare; having in your conscience something as horrible as being responsible of blinding a person was a pressure and guilt that overwhelmed her. After the Jenna thing Alison started to show a part of her that she didn't show too often; Alison become a lot more caring; she kept on asking her how she was feeling, asking if she needed anything, she started being more kind and sweet towards her (not that she wasn't before, but in a different way), it was something that fascinated Emily. Alison stated to Emily and her friends that what happened that night had brought them closer together, but she didn't notice Alison spending more time with the rest of them than she did with her; that (again) made her feel special._

 _And she knew they'd had one of those moments now because they would be alone, Alison was always alone before her field hockey practice. She found her in the library, she had told her she would be there, as she walked through the small halls between the shelves full of books she heard a giggle._

" _What's so funny?" She saw the blonde sitting on the floor, with an opened book resting in her legs; Big Expectations, their English teacher was making them read it._

" _Their names" The shorter girl replied with a soft smile on her lips"Pip, Mr. Wopsle… Uncle Pumblechook…They all sound like stuffed animals"_

" _I can't believe you're already finished it" She sat on the floor next to Alison._

" _Want me to tell you what happens?" Alison gave her a smirk "I'll make you a cheat sheet"_

 _Emily scoffed._

" _You know" Alison's hand reached her hair "You should really let me braid your hair sometime"_

 _Emily dismissed the warm feeling it caused her "I had a dream last night… About Jenna"_

" _Emily, don't okay?" The blonde's face fell in an almost warning expression "Stop thinking about that, there are all sorts of operations and stuff they can do" She looked at her like it could prevent her from over thinking too much about what happened._

" _I dreamt that she came back and she was fine" Emily explained herself better "She can see perfectly and she forgave us"._

 _Alison's small smile reappeared slowly "That's why I love you" Even though Emily knew she didn't say it in the way she wanted to, her heart still skipped a bit._

" _You're big in happy endings" They stared at each other for a second "So is Dickens, by the way" Alison looked back at the book below her._

" _Pip gets Stella in the end" She looked back at her "Can I read you something?" Emily could only nod, she looked at Alison reading, in that lime light she looked even more beautiful._

" _I loved her against reason" She started "Against promise" She looked at her and her heart began racing like crazy "Against peace" And back to the book "Against hope, against happiness" She looked back at her again and Emily was feeling that dizziness taking over her mind "Against all discouragement that could be"_

 _They stared at each other for a moment "Did you get to that part yet?"_

 _And in more confident manner than she actually felt she nodded, Emily could only hear her heart beating wildly, letting herself think that Dickens' words wasn't his but Alison's feelings towards her, but ironically, that was also precisely what she felt for the Alison, either way, those words gave Emily a freeing feeling. So she stopped caring about everything because the other girl's smile made it clear that the blonde knew what Emily was thinking and was teasing her, she just let herself be, she stared at Alison for a moment before letting her head moved forward, catching Alison's lips with her own. It was short, it was sweet, it was liberating._

 _Emily pulled back with a smile and it only grew bigger when opened her eyes to see Alison respond with one as well._

" _You'll have to read the rest, Em, that you kissed me doesn't mean I'll do it for you" Alison joked and Emily laughed, the other girl stood up closing the book "Think you can finish without me?" she handed it to Emily and she rolled her eyes "I'll see you later, Em" with that Alison turned around and left her there with warmed up cheeks and sweaty hands, but this time they were caused by a good reason; a very, very good reason._

* * *

You couldn't say that the 24 years Emily Fields was still the same shy and introvert girl she was when she was 16. Some say that every teenager mature at their own pace; according to their lives, they go through their adolescence making mistakes and learning from them and experimenting to find themselves, discarding things they don't agree with and keeping thing they like. Professionals say that teenagers go through this rebellious stage so they proceed into a healthy adulthood with said phase left in past. That didn't happen with Emily; she wished she was one of those normal teenagers when she was young, one of those who would argue with their parents for sneaking out or missing school, she wished she would just had a fight with her folks for drinking on a party, but when she was in high school she didn't have the problems kids her age seem to have, not even adults, in that matter.

Emily went through things in high school that forced her (and her friends) mature faster than most her classmates in Rosewood High; what happened in that period of her life didn't leave room for her insecurities to show; you see, with a psychopath out to get her and her friends, the moments of weaknesses came with a high cost. That's why when she finally graduated; she didn't think twice to leave that hell of a town that some call Rosewood.

The summer she graduated she immediately left to Nicaragua with Habitat for Humanity; it was a freeing experience, just as it was when went with them to Haiti after Maya's death. The difference was that she was that she wasn't grieving and that time she was actually free. No A, no deaths, no drama, no girlfriends. That summer she was actually there, in heart and soul and not just body. It was a summer full of work, sore muscles tiredness and she was able to say that she actually enjoyed it, especially for the no girlfriend's part. That was the summer she and Zoe began their relationship. She honestly didn't expect start something with anyone in that trip, after the Sara fiasco, the last thing she wanted was to open up to someone, Zoe told her that she was attracted to her and Emily gently told her she wasn't interested, but by the end of the summer Zoe had found a way to Emily, the whole summer Zoe listened to everything she had to say, from small talks to everything she went through in Rosewood; she also found the really special person that Zoe was. The last day in Nicaragua the red-haired took her hand and told her that she willing to wait for her, Emily kissed her that moment; she felt like she was in a cloud.

She returned to Rosewood with an accepting letter from Pepperdine University, in Malibu California; she didn't even think about it, she just told her mom and dad the news and shared with her friends the excitement of going to college. She told Zoe over the phone, she went straight to Toronto after Nicaragua, she sounded do happy for her, she told Emily that she was as proud as anyone could be of a person and promised her to see go see her in California; which she did. In her first Friday in Pepperdine she walked from her last period towards her room, she found Zoe sat in front of her door. They hugged each other tightly. They walked over the campus, Emily trying to show Zoe around, but she was almost as clueless. They walked, they talked and they kissed. Emily realized that moment how she missed her in the weeks they were apart. When Zoe walked Emily to her room and told her that she was settling in California, then she asked her to move in with her.

Emily knew that it was rushed, but for some reason she didn't care, she got to know Zoe incredibly well and she was sure that she loved her, so she just kissed her girlfriend and told her yes. Since then their relation did nothing but grow stronger until a year and a half after they got married, she was the first of her friends to do so.

So here was she now, in the same apartment she had been sharing with her wife ever since, now graduated as a sport medicine doctor and she just quit her job of being the personal doctor of California's soccer team LA Galaxy with the hope (and ambition.. Or greed, whatever you like to call it) of finding something bigger, she was in bed with Zoe sleeping peacefully behind her (she loved being the big spoon) and Emily decided to copy her, she needed to sleep, she felt Zoe moving her closer and she smiled.

She still felt like she was on a cloud.

* * *

I know... But trust me, Paily will happen.  
I'm sorry for any mistake or bad grammar.

I know that is not what you expected, but if you all want me to continue, I will, you just review and tell me.

Remember. Paily is to happen here.

I want to know what you thought! Even if you hated it!

-Alex.-


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